Nationwide Inventory of Mosquito Biodiversity (Diptera: Culicidae) in Belgium, Europe

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Nationwide Inventory of Mosquito Biodiversity (Diptera: Culicidae) in Belgium, Europe Bulletin of Entomological Research (2013) 103, 193–203 doi:10.1017/S0007485312000521 © Cambridge University Press 2012. The online version of this article is published within an Open Access environment subject to the conditions of the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike licence <http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-sa/3.0/>. The written permission of Cambridge University Press must be obtained for commercial re-use. Nationwide inventory of mosquito biodiversity (Diptera: Culicidae) in Belgium, Europe V. Versteirt1, S. Boyer2, D. Damiens2, E.M. De Clercq4, W. Dekoninck3, E. Ducheyne4, P. Grootaert3, C. Garros2, T. Hance2, G. Hendrickx4, M. Coosemans1,5* and W. Van Bortel1 1Department of Biomedical Science, Vector Biology Group, Medical Entomology Unit, Institute of Tropical Medicine, Nationalestraat 155, B-2000 Antwerp, Belgium: 2Biodiversity research Centre, Earth and Life Institute, Université catholique de Louvain, Place Croix Sud 4/5, B-1348 Louvain-La- Neuve, Belgium: 3Department of Entomology, Royal Belgian Institute of Natural Sciences, Vautierstraat 29, B-1000 Brussels, Belgium: 4Avia-GIS, Risschotlei 33, B-2980 Zoersel, Belgium: 5Department of Biomedical Sciences, Faculty of Pharmaceutical, Veterinary and Biomedical Sciences, University of Antwerp, Universiteitsplein 1, B-261 0 Antwerpen (Wilrijk), Belgium Abstract To advance our restricted knowledge on mosquito biodiversity and distribution in Belgium, a national inventory started in 2007 (MODIRISK) based on a random selection of 936 collection points in three main environmental types: urban, rural and natural areas. Additionally, 64 sites were selected because of the risk of importing a vector or pathogen in these sites. Each site was sampled once between May and October 2007 and once in 2008 using Mosquito Magnet Liberty Plus traps. Diversity in pre-defined habitat types was calculated using three indices. The association between species and environmental types was assessed using a correspondence analysis. Twenty-three mosquito species belonging to traditionally recognized genera were found, including 21 indigenous and two exotic species. Highest species diversity (Simpson 0.765) and species richness (20 species) was observed in natural areas, although urban sites scored also well (Simpson 0.476, 16 species). Four clusters could be distinguished based on the correspondence analysis. The first one is related to human modified landscapes (such as urban, rural and industrial sites). A second is composed of species not associated with a specific habitat type, including the now widely distributed Anopheles plumbeus. A third group includes species commonly found in restored natural or bird migration areas, and a fourth cluster is composed of forest species. Outcomes of this study demonstrate the effectiveness of the designed sampling scheme and support the choice of the trap type. Obtained results of this first country-wide inventory of the Culicidae in Belgium may serve as a basis for risk assessment of emerging mosquito-borne diseases. *Author for correspondence Fax: +32 3 2476359 E-mail: [email protected] Downloaded from https://www.cambridge.org/core. IP address: 170.106.40.40, on 27 Sep 2021 at 09:18:10, subject to the Cambridge Core terms of use, available at https://www.cambridge.org/core/terms. https://doi.org/10.1017/S0007485312000521 194 V. Versteirt et al. Keywords: inventory, sampling strategy, biodiversity, invasive species, Culicidae (Accepted 3 July 2012; First published online 13 September 2012) Introduction of Culicidae is an essential step towards understanding the current risk of diseases transmitted by mosquitoes In general, the term biodiversity comprises the diversity and preparing for future threats. In that framework, a national of species and their complex interplay with the abiotic, non- inventory started in 2007 (MODIRISK, www.modirisk. living, features of their environment. Biodiversity relates to the be). It was based on a specific and unique sampling range of genes, species and ecosystems and can be divided strategy designed to allow a rapid overview of the Belgium into a structural, functional and spatial component changing Culicidae. over time and space (Gaston, 1996). Gaining knowledge This paper, therefore, elaborately describes the applied on these different components of mosquito biodiversity sampling protocol, as it was specifically developed for this is essential to understand the current risk of new invading study. Furthermore, our aims were (i) to update the current species and disease transmission in a region (Manguin & knowledge on mosquito species present in Belgium, (ii) to Boëte, 2011). The structural biodiversity component encom- assess structural biodiversity based on different species passes species richness based on morphological or molecular richness indices and (iii) assess spatial biodiversity according characteristics and their relative abundance. The functional to the main environmental types. aspect comprises the ecology of different species and their habitat preferences, their influence on ecosystem functioning, and the species interactions (e.g. competition, the influence of invasive species). Spatial biodiversity, in turn, covers the Material and methods occurrence of species in a given region or habitat, which is Sampling design essential to predict species variance with changing environ- mental and climatic conditions. Despite the importance of Cross-sectional field surveys were conducted using the these components in risk assessments, little attention has been Corine (2000) Land Cover classification (NGI, 2004), paid to the distribution and biodiversity of mosquitoes in delineating potential mosquito habitats. The Corine Land northern Europe, except for some scattered studies (Schäfer, Cover Classes were regrouped in six classes: (i) urban 2004). Studies focused mainly on indigenous vector species biotopes, (ii) land in agricultural cycle, (iii) natural like Anopheles spp. in southern Europe (Patsoula et al., 2007; terrestrial environmental type, (iv) mosquito specific areas Ponçon et al., 2007; Di Luca et al., 2009; Vicente et al., 2011) and (ports, airports, dump sites, moors and heat land, inland invasive (potential vector) species such as Aedes albopictus marshes, salt marshes), (v) secondary sites (industrial and (=Stegomyia albopicta in the phylogenetic classification of commercial units, roads, mines and mineral extraction sites, Reinert et al., 2009) and Ae. j. japonicus (also Ochlerotatus construction sites) and (vi) water bodies. The last two were j. japonicus or Hulecoeteomyia j. japonicus) (see Medlock et al., not included in the inventory. The first three were retained 2012) but disregarded information about the spatial distri- for a random selection of sampling sites and were renamed bution of other indigenous (adult) mosquito species. Overall, as (i) urban, (ii) rural and (iii) natural. A fourth class was recent knowledge on the different aspects of biodiversity additionally defined as selected sites, those prone to an of both indigenous and invading vector mosquito species introduction of vectors or pathogens, subdivided into is currently missing in many northern European countries, import risk areas industry (IRA-industry) and importation including Belgium. Besides a paper published in 2004 risk areas (IRA). The former included used tire importa- reporting the occurrence of Aedes albopictus in Belgium tion/storage companies, bamboo importers, harbours and (Schaffner et al., 2004), only a few publications are available airports and are mainly areas at risk for importation of on mosquitoes in Belgium. Some scattered records of exotic mosquito species. The IRA included zoos, safari mosquito species in Belgium were mentioned by parks, protected areas involving presence of large numbers Goetghebuer (1925) in the beginning of the 20th century. In of migratory birds where importation of pathogens is the 1940s, the presence of malarial mosquitoes and associated possible. This data layer was then overlaid with the malaria transmission risk was studied at several locations Military Grid Reference System (MGRS) (Hagemeir & in Belgium (Rodhain & van Hoof, 1942, 1943; Rodhain & Blair, 1997), which is an extension of the UTM system. A Van Mechelen, 1944); and, during the early 1950s, mosquito total of 312 10×10km MGRS cells are identified across nuisance was investigated around the city of Antwerp Belgium. The aim was to sample per cell an average of (Wanson, 1952). Although a large collection is present at three representative environmental types, representing a the Royal Belgian Institute of Natural Sciences (RBINS), the total of 936 sampling points. The number of points majority of this material was never identified. In 1991, a assigned for each Corine land cover aggregated class was checklist of Belgian Culicidae was created comprising proportional to its total surface in Belgium, and each point 24 species present in the RBINS collection and additional received a random set of X and Y coordinates. Given the species mentioned in card-indexes (Gosseries & Goddeeris, random location, each point was assigned to a full address, 1991), based on historical data mainly collected between 1909 i.e. street, house number and postal code using the and 1958. Moreover, records are sometimes clustered in space geocoding functionality from ArcView3.2 and based on and time, as, for example, between 1940 and 1950 mosquitoes the geocoding street network data layer (TeleAtlas were mainly collected
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